The Elements
by E. F. Brighty
Summary: A dream I had not so long ago, and the contents of what I can remember. More chapters to come if you like!
1. Chapter 1

**DISCLAIMER:**** I still don't own Cats, or the computer I typed this chapter up on.**

**Chapter 1**

The queen looked down upon her children, silently thanking the Everlasting Cat that she could hold them in her arms at last. It had been a long wait for both her and her mate, since she was announced to be with child until this moment. Long hours sat together discussing the possibilities of genders the kittens could be, and thoughts of naming them were mentioned regularly. Now sitting with the kits in her gentle embrace she could finally take in their tiny forms. The first, a beautiful silver striped tabby-like kit. She saw in him her mate in his youth, his grey coat before it became wild and untamed. The second looked almost nothing like the eldest; he was white with black spots covering him. Though she could not tell for sure yet, she was certain he would have her eyes and most defiantly her class. She turned to the youngest, who once again looked nothing like his elder siblings. He was a mixture of both parents; his coat resembled his mothers from the glossy black of his fur to the small tuft of mane protruding from his chest. His face was as she remembered of her mate when they were younger and his headfur had a small curl at the front, the ladies tom certainly. She was uncertain as to where in either's heritage the leopard spots had come from, but they added character to his already marvellous posture.

Her mate tore away from the crowd of chattering cats, each congratulating him on account of his new children, and joined her beside the bed. He looked down at her, hazel eyes glowing with joy, then at his children. She knew he was also contemplating all the similarities the kits held to their parents, as well as how different they seemed as brothers. He grinned and his gaze back towards his mate.

"What shall we call them, my dear Bella?" he asked quietly. She had expected this question, and had already begun to think of names for the kittens.

"For the eldest, I think Munkustrap should suffice," she said, her mate nodded beckoning for her to continue. "For the second, Alonzo. And for the youngest, Rum Tum Tugger shall be his name." She finished with a flourishing grin to all her offspring, before turning to her mate.

"Rum Tum Tugger?" he puzzled over his youngest sons name. "A little big for such a small kitten, do you not think Bella?"

She frowned slightly and looked down at the small tom, "Well perhaps just Tugger for short?" she asked hopefully.

He contemplated this for a moment before smiling kindly at his mate. "Very well Bella, as you wish."

The queens smiled gratefully. "Thank you Deuteronomy." She said as he turned away.

"Let all cats hear this; on this night, I Old Deuteronomy and my mate Grizabella have been given three sons. Their names are as follows; Munkustrap, Alonzo and Rum Tum Tugger." At this the cat surrounding the den danced and cheered for joy. Some ran off to tell others of the news, many stayed to get a peak of the new kittens. All celebrated that night of the new life these kittens would be to lead.

* * *

On the other side of the streets of London, in the almost silent roads of St James' street, a cat who was not of skin and bones mourned the death of his partner. The queen, so fragile and gentle to begin with, had taken ill before labour and died with the newborns in her arms. He knelt beside the deceased queen and wept, silently. He felt like cursing the Everlasting Cat for bringing an end to a queen's life that had barely even begun. Far too young an age to die, the tom thought.

The stirring of newborns caught his eye. He looked at them, almost loathing the fact that they had lived, while his mate lay dead. Almost. He took them carefully from the departed queens grasp and inspected them closely. The two eldest had been born at exactly the same time, which had caused the queen much unnecessary pain. Both were identical in fur patterns, their grey coloured coat mixing in with splodges of silver, brown and the odd spot of gold. One small difference he noticed was a faint wavy line on the queen-kit's cheek. That was how he would be able to tell them apart. The youngest was mainly black with a bright white face, which could be seen even in the midnight darkness. His chest, legs and tip of his tail were a slightly greyer colour of white, but made him look very distinguished. Like his father.

"What to name you?" he asked himself. He took another sweeping glance over the young bundles of fur, before standing and walking out from his home. "I, Bustopher Jones and my late mate Alana," he choked on his words, and shook his head before continuing. "Announce the birth of three kittens, and their names are as thus; Coricopat, Tantomile and Quaxo." The cats, who had known him as a friend and neighbour, congratulated him on the birth of the kittens and consolidated him on the death of Alana. He showed no emotion to them and uttered nothing, but a word of thanks. After a while he quietly left their presence and sought solitude for himself and his kittens.

* * *

By the docks named after Queen Victoria, a struggle ensued. Two cats, recent parents of a set of twins, were being forced away by a nearby tribe. The group which was leading them from the birthplace was a tribe mourning still for the death of their leader. Convinced that he had died by means that were not natural, they had sought out the pirate couple who had already been accused for murder several times over. The cats had found them in an alleyway near the dock where, unbeknownst to them, the queen had given birth mere minutes before. The two were dragged away for questioning and, should they be found guilty, would never see their kittens again.

An old nurse queen who had came along with the party, should the pirates have turned violent, heard a small yowl as she turned to follow her tribe home. She took a sharp turn to look once more down the alley, squinting through the darkness to see what had made the noise. She shook her head deciding it was her imagination and was about to rejoin the tribe when the noise sounded again. Clearer this time. She moved over to where it seemed to be coming from and was shocked to find a pair of newborn kittens hidden underneath a plank of wood. She gasped and immediately scooped up the crying kittens and lulled them back to sleep. She smiled slightly at their sleeping forms, so small and vulnerable they had now been left without parents. That was not their own fault. As she was beginning to wonder if the young cats had yet been given names she jumped when a tall black cat came up behind her.

"Ramon you scared me," she said calming down again.

"I do apologise Sonila," he said quietly, as he looked at the kittens in her arms. "Who do these belong to?" he asked pointing to them.

"I think they belong to the pirates," Ramon sniffed indignantly, glaring at the kits. "It's not their fault you father was killed sir, do not take you anger out on the innocent."

Ramon nodded, "You're right Sonila. What shall we do with them?"

"Perhaps we should give them a name and somewhere to grow?" she asked cautiously. The tom stared at the kittens with a blank expression, considering her request.

"You may name them, but they shall have no place among our tribe. We do not need any more threats," Ramon said coldly. The queen nodded and did not try to contradict him, the tom moved away from her to the entrance of the alley. "Once you have named them we shall take them to a neighbouring tribe and there they shall stay."

The queen looked down at the kittens. One was slightly longer than the other, so she guessed it was older. The first was a black coloured queen with golden-ginger tiger stripes along her back and legs. She looked like her father, what she had seen of him. The younger of the two, was a stumpy white coated tom with light ginger stripes along his back and face and brown tufts of fur along his chest. A mixture of his Persian mother and his Maine coon father. She thought of many names but settled on two names that reminded her of the sea Leomaris, meaning sea lion, for the tom and Maristela, meaning star of the sea, for the queen. She whispered their new names to the wind and walked over to Ramon, who led them away without speaking or looking back.

* * *

In the centre of London, in a quiet backstreet of Piccadilly, a queen lay breathless as she held her tiny kittens close. She was alone with no other cats in the surroundings of the famous street, after going through a painful labour and birth. The queen regained her breath as she looked up and down the street to make sure she was alone before bursting into tears. She hadn't meant to get pregnant, especially with a tom that was not her own mate. Once he had heard the story of how she had become impregnated, he had left her, thinking her nothing more than a selfish whore. She had then been shunned by the tribe, who had also gone with her ex-mates views and thought nothing more of her or her *bastard kittens. She had left for fear they may turn against her and the young kittens once they were born, and had lived for the past month alone on the streets of Piccadilly and Pall Mall.

She calmed down, eventually, and looked over her newborns taking in their beautiful coats and features. The first was a deep red queen, shade of copper and gold streaked through her fur, making her stand out among the siblings. Surprisingly she looked nothing like the father, and nor did the second kit. This one was slightly smaller than her older twin; she was black also with streaks of copper and gold through her glossy fur. She then began to search for names for her young children, she turned down many perfectly suitable and original names before settling on two names she thought best suited them.

"My dears, there may be no audience to accept you into this world, but I Raquel shall acknowledge your existence. I name you Bombalurina and Demeter." She smiled at the kittens as she spoke the names aloud. But she knew her own joy wouldn't last. The tribe would hear of the birth of the kittens and might try to hunt them down and force them away from her. She needed to find a sanctuary for them, a place they could live without fear. She had heard of a tribe that lived in a junkyard near Hyde Park. So that's where she headed.

* * *

Not so far away in an attic room high above Tottenham Court road, a pair of cats was stood beside the window staring out, not hearing the cries of their children from the other side of the attic. The two hissed as a loud yowl came from one of the younglings, the tom threw a glare to the queen and she went over to silence them. The litter fell silent and the queen returned to her mate by the window and once again stared out on the road below. They sat in silence for a while, both pondering on what they should do with the children, for they couldn't stay with them. It wasn't the fact they cared for the wellbeing of the infants, it was because they would only get in the way of their operations. They were the most famous cat burglars of the streets of London and couldn't take time out of their schedule to look after little cats. Even if they were their own flesh and blood. The queen let out a small sigh, her mate looked up from his window gazing to stare at her.

"What's wrong?" he asked; voice cold and empty.

"Nothing," the queen answered equally barren of emotion. The tom nodded, "Only, what should we name them?" she asked motioning to the slumbering kits in the corner. The tom looked over at them, as if only realising there were someone other than himself and the queen in the room.

"It is your choice, I do not care." he told her and returned to his attention to the street below. The queen nodded slowly and left the window and moved quietly over to the peaceful forms; that were curled up together. She knelt down beside them and carefully analysed them. The tom was a mixture of ginger and red stripes mixed together on top of a white coat. He was tall and thin and had a highly domed forehead. The younger was a ebony black coated queen, with stripes of red mixed with gold that trailed along her back and up to her headfur. She was just as tall as her brother but was without the domed forehead. The queen thought for a moment before standing and facing her mate, whose head quickly snapped back to the window.

"I have named them," she stated loud enough so he could hear.

"Go on then," he drawled in a bored voice.

"On this night, I Lamia and my mate **Paris have named our two newborns as so; Macavity and Nyoka." She said to no one in particular. The tom nodded again, agreeing to the names Lamia had chosen for the kittens. "I wish to ask you one more thing," she said as she walked back over to the window.

"What is it?" he sighed, he was becoming bored of her persistent questions.

"Well... where shall we leave them?" Paris looked over confused. "The kittens I mean, you said we would not be able to take them with us."

"I did," he accepted the claim. "And to ease your mind they will be going to my brother's tribe, adjacent to Hyde Park. You remember?"

"I do. Will they be safe there?" she asked clearly worried.

The tom chuckled, "You have evidently forgotten everything I told you about Old Deut. When we were kits he was always far too cautious, the kits will be safe with him, don't worry." he pulled the queen into a gentle embrace, making her relax. "We go now, for it's quite a long journey," he said looking to the moon which had passed its zenith a while ago. Lamia nodded and collected the kittens from their corner. The pair slipped through the rafters of the roof and vanished into the night.

* * *

**Well here it is, chapter 1. BTW first was the Prologue, now it's chapter 1. Please review!**

***No by saying 'bastard kittens' I DO NOT hate Bomba and Demeter, it is another thing from Shakespear. Don't hurt me!**

****A name from Romeo and Juliet. I don't really like him much, but it was the first name that came into my head. Also it means 'an unfair wager' so I thought 'Perfect for a thief!'**

**Those who can guess from this chapter who the ten Elements might be get 'smiley faces'!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Yeah, second chapter! Or third if you're counting the prologue as a chapter. Either way it doesn't matter! I would have uploaded it yesterday, but the 'Musical Society Group' I'm in had rehearsals. What can you do?**

**DISCALIMER: Nope, still don't own Cats. Or the Society group I was in yesterday.**

**Chapter 2**

In the early hours of dawn the sun peaking over the vast extensions of buildings and houses that toward over the junkyard; the cats awoke to cries from an unknown being. Confused by the sounds most adults ventured out to seek the source of the noise that had woken them from their slumber. They searched throughout the yard, inside the vast piles of junk and up the forest of trees that kept their territory from view. Nothing was to be found, but still the cries were heard. Old Deuteronomy, having been stirred from sleep by the wailing, joined in the search. He sent Asparagus, his most trusted friend, to look around the surrounding edges of their home, hoping the answer would lie there. The rest continued to search inside the yard.

A little while into the intense search, a yell from one of the cats was heard from the far side of the junkyard piles. The party rushed towards the sound and found Skimble kneeling beside a wooden box. He motioned them to keep quiet as they came closer to the box; Old Deuteronomy moved to kneel beside Skimble and looked into the crate. Inside two tiny forms stirred in their sleep but did not wake, one with a fiery red and copper coat, the other a black and gold mix. A note was attached to the interior of the bed, Skimble took it and moved his eyes over the page and sighed.

"They were left here by their mother," he whispered. "She was thrown out of her own tribe and had them on the streets, alone. The poor thing."

Deuteronomy nodded and the cats behind him shuffled uncomfortably. "What are their names?" the old cat asked.

"The red queen is called Bombalurina and the black is Demeter," he informed the group.

"Take them to your home for now, Skimble. Keep them warm, we'll find a place for them here." Skimble nodded and carefully lifted the kittens from the box and took off towards his den. The cats stood silent for a moment, wondering what had happened to the queen, when another cry was heard near the forest. The cats once again rushed to the source and found Jellyorum carefully backing out of a crook in a tall oak tree.

"What's wrong Jelly?" asked Victor, an adolesant who had rushed over hearing his aunt cry. Jelly turned around to reveal a bundle of blankets, inside something was moving around. Jelly slowly removed the top coverings to reveal another pair of little cats, in this pair one was black with ginger tiger stripes and the other was white coated again with ginger tiger stripes and small tufts of fur poking through his chest. As same as before, there was a letter inside the folds of blankets. Jelly took it out and handed it to Victor to read. His facial expression changed from shock, to grief and when the cats asked what was wrong he answered, "Their parents were killed by a neighbouring tribe."

The cats around bowed their heads in respect to the departed couple. Deuteronomy, who had taken his time due to his old age, passed through the crowd and looked down at the kittens peaceful forms. "What are their names Victor?" he asked quietly.

"The black queen is called Maristela and the white tom is called Leomaris." He announced.

"Both sea cat names, their parents were the Lady Griddlebone and the Pirate Growltiger," he told them. The cats looked at each other confused.

"How do you know this Deuteronomy?" asked Jelly, who was just as confused as the rest.

"The tribe that killed them told me of the death of their leader, an old friend of mine. They said they were certain it was the pair of sea cats, they told me also that the queen was said to be expecting. I asked them to spare the kits and bring them here; he agreed and kept his promise as you can see." Deuteronomy motioned to the kits. The cats nodded understanding, he turned to Jelly. "Take them to Skimble's den, he is waiting for us and will help look after these two. Victor go with your aunt," the young tom nodded and helped Jelly over the roots that stuck up along the path. The cats stood again in silence for a moment, wondering should there be any more lonely kittens to be found that day.

The group began to disperse returning to their home to tell of the events that had passed, when another loud noise broke the silence. The remaining toms rushed towards the sound, which had come from outside the junkyard territory. Asparagus was carefully opening a large swag bag, the cats gathered round to see what he had found. Deuteronomy, who had been able to keep up this time, watched as his friend extracted to squirming kittens, both crying. He shushed them gently and they soon returned to their dreams. Asparagus said nothing, but handed a piece of paper to Deuteronomy who scanned over the few carefully scribbled sentences. The cats waited patiently to know who had left the new pair of twins and their names. Deuteronomy sighed, crumpled up the sheet of paper threw it to the ground, took the kits off Asparagus and retreated back into the junkyard. The cats stood fixed, shocked by their leader's actions and then not even explain why he did so. After a moment of regaining his thoughts, Asparagus moved over to the ball of paper. He unfolded it and read it for himself.

"Uncle?" asked George, who too was an adolesant. Asparagus looked over at him, "Wh- what does it say?" he feared the answer.

"It says, 'These are Nyoka and Macavity. Look after them for me brother. Signed the Black Phantom.'"Asparagus finished reading the short note and looked to the party. They all knew of the 'Black Phantom' formerly known as Paris, Deuteronomy's younger brother. Paris had left the tribe for a life of crime and thievery; the tribe would not accept him back when he was being chased by Scotland Yard, he had chosen to leave and could never return. Of course he had taken a grudge against them after, even though he had yet to be captured. Asking Deuteronomy to look after his kittens was asking much of him, seeing as he already had his own children to worry about.

"Deuteronomy will look after them won't he uncle? He wouldn't throw them out, would he?" the young George asked.

"Of course not George, he would never do something like that!" Asparagus replied annoyed, George flinched. "Sorry George, I'm sure Deuteronomy will do the right thing."

* * *

It had been a month since the discovery of the six kittens, and each family of cats had done what they could to help them. Jenny and Skimble had taken in Bombalurina and Demeter, for they had always wanted a child of their own, but had so far been unsuccessful. Jelly and Asparagus had taken in Leomaris and Maristela and Deuteronomy and Grizabella had taken in Nyoka and Macavity. However, Grizabella after having first accepted the new kittens into their family, left for reasons unknown to the other cats. Deuteronomy spoke to no one that day. The kittens would be easily convinced that they were part of their new families as their eyes had not yet opened and once they had they would be accepted by the traditional 'Family Acceptance' which was carried out in their own den when the kittens eyes had developed. Each family of cats were waiting anxiously by the bedside of their kittens, flinching each time one moved or stirred in their sleep.

Bustopher Jones had came to the junkyard a few days ago to be with his family and to wait the developing of his kittens eyes within his own home, rather than that of his human one. All the cats in the junkyard came to pay their respects to his departed mate and to also congratulate him on the three new kittens. He had thanked them and they went on their way, not wishing to disturb him with the memory of Alana.

Finally the day came and each of the cats were riled with anticipation, they watched as their kittens eyes slowly changed colour and were able to see for the first time. Deuteronomy gazed down at his new children as they blinked up at him. Munkustrap had light grey eyes, which reflected the light in the room beautifully. Alonzo had Grizabella's emerald green eyes and Tugger had his father's chocolate brown. Nyoka and Macavity's eyes were very similar, both were amber in colour but Nyoka had flecks of gold in her irises where Macavity did not. Each pair of eyes gazed into Deuteronomy's own, and then Deuteronomy placed a paw on top of each head and caressed their headfur, weaving his scent into theirs. True the ceremony was quick, but it was a valued tradition none the less.

Jenny and Skimble smiled down upon the two queens. Bombalurina looked up with her glossy brown eyes and Demeter's green and gold mix darted back and forth between the pair. Skimble reached forth his paw and stroked each queens face, after retreating his paw, Jenny leaned down and kissed each kit on the cheek. The kittens smiled and fell asleep. The elder cats looked up from their children and saw Asparagus and Jelly fawning over Maristela and Leomaris. Both pairs of eyes were a mix of dark blue and grey, making them almost black. The two looked up from their now finished ceremony and smiled over at Jenny and Skimble, who returned the sentiment before looking back down at the slumbering queens.

Bustopher Jones stared down into each of his young kitten's eyes, smiling to himself and quietly thanking the Everlasting Cat that they had such beautifully coloured eyes. Both Coricopat and Tantomile had golden honey coloured eyes, which made the morning sun glow through the den. Quaxo had a dark auburn-gold colour to his eyes, he realised they were the same colour as Alana's had been. His smile wavered slightly at the thought of Alana, but didn't let the thought prevent him from reaching out and stroking the kitten's headfur.

The families of cats, now officially could be called family, stayed in their dens teaching their young kittens walk on their two legs and how you should talk to another cat. It would be a while before they were to be allowed, but when the time came it would be another great adventure along their journey.

* * *

*grins weakly* Sorry it's so cruddy. It's the best I could come up with by the notes I had in my notebook. It'll probably look better after the next chapter comes up. *Prays that it will be so*

Please review and tell me what a loser this chapter is. If you lie Paris will come and steal your computer! You've been warned.


	3. Chapter 3

**Next chapter! Took me a while to write everything I wanted down, but it's done!!**

**DISCLAIMER: I still am not of the owning of the musical Cats, the property of which belongs to Mr. Lloyd Webber. **

**Chapter 3**

The kittens, having been taught how to walk and to talk, would attend the junkyard 'school' where Jenny taught the kittens basic things a cat should ever need to do. With knitting classes on the side. The kittens arrived on the first day jumping with excitement of meeting the other junkyard kits for the first time, though at the same time they were quite nervous of meeting strangers. But it was forgotten quickly when they played in the centre of the yard, they chased each other in a game of tag, where no one really knew who was 'it'. They jumped over each other in a game of leap-cat and played a short game of hide and seek, before Jenny rang a bell signalling that they had to go inside the large den under the piles of well placed junk.

The room was quite large and in its space were six children's play-tables, each with two tiny plastic chairs. The cats chose a seat and sat down. They had decided to sit beside a sibling instead of a kit they knew nothing of. Munk sat beside Alonzo, Bomba was beside Demeter, Cori and Tanto were on a table, Leomaris and Maristela shared a desk and Nyoka and Macavity sat with each other. Tugger had sat down at the remaining table and Quaxo, not wanting to be rude, sat on the floor. Jenny came into the room with a small stack of books and a sheet of paper. She sat at the desk at the front of the den, pulled the paper closer and took out a feather from the inside of her desk.

She cleared her throat and looked at the kittens. "Hello kits. Welcome to your first lesson," she smiled warmly at them and they gave a shy smile each in return. "Now when I call your name on this paper, I want you to say 'here', okay?" the kits nodded and Jenny continued, "Alonzo?"

"Here," the kit called, in almost a whisper.

"Speak up dear, you're all going to say it, don't be shy." Jenny encouraged him. "Now, Alonzo?"

"Here," he called, clearer this time.

"Bombalurina?" she smiled at her daughter.

"Here," she said, a little louder than Alonzo.

"Coricopat?" Jenny asked.

"Here," the tom spoke in a calm voice.

"Demeter?" she again smiled at her other daughter.

"He... here," she stuttered out.

"Leomaris?" she looked over at him.

"Here!" he yelled jumping up and down in his seat. The kittens giggled at his antics.

Jenny smiled at the young tom. "Good. Macavity?"

"Here," he called out determined not to sound shy.

"Maristela?" she looked over at the pair of kittens, who were still giggling at Leo's outburst. "Maristela?" Jenny called her name louder.

"I didn't do it!" she yelled, standing up. "He did it, he made me!" she pointed at Leo, who looked up at her shocked.

"Mari, I wanted to know if you were here or not. Though you've made it quite clear that you are anyway." The kits giggled and Maristela blushed as she sank back into her seat. "Okay, Munkustrap?"

"Here," he called out.

"Nyoka?" Jenny turned to the youngest in the group.

"Yeah?" she asked, clearly not understanding.

"Are you here or not?" Jenny asked.

"Umm... I think so," she said, shrugging her shoulders.

Whether she was joking or not Jenny carried on either way. "Quaxo?"

"Here," came the slightly muffled reply. Jenny looked up and scanned the room for the little tom. She couldn't locate him.

"Quaxo?" she asked again.

"I'm here," came the reply louder this time.

"Stand up please Quaxo," she called to him, wherever he was. The little tom stood up immediately and Jenny spotted him behind Tugger. "Why are you not in a seat Quaxo?"

The tom shuffled his foot on the dirt floor, "There aren't any seats left."

"Don't be silly there's one next to Tugger," she said kindly. The latter looked behind him and smiled at the tiny tuxedo tom, this only seemed to cause him to be more uncomfortable.

"I didn't want to seem rude," the tom confessed in a small voice.

"Never mind Quaxo, go sit beside Tugger." Quaxo moved to the table and took the remaining seat beside the larger cat, who once again gave him a kind smile before Jenny continued. "Quaxo?" she asked for the final time.

"Here," the tom answered.

"Rum Tum Tugger?" she asked looking again to the back.

"Here," the maine coon smiled and waved cheerfully at the elder cat.

"And Tantomile?" the queen finished.

"Here," replied the queen, in the same calm voice as her brother used.

"Good, now we have that sorted, we can move on." Jenny said standing up and taking the books she had brought in with her. "Today, we shall begin with the basics of reading letters and words." She told them handing a book to each cat. Most of the kittens moaned wanting to do something more exciting on their first day while others, others meaning Munkustrap and Alonzo, seemed very keen on the idea of reading. One way or another Jenny was going to have them all reading and possibly writing by the end of the month.

* * *

It had been nearly two months since the kitten's first day of Jenny's schooling, and they were becoming bored with staying inside the den all day. Apart from the little while before Jenny came with her bell, their lunch break where they were allowed out for a reasonable amount of time and after lessons when they would play until the sun set over the surrounding buildings.

Jenny too was becoming exhausted with having to keep the kittens inside nearly all day, and they were still not sitting with the other kittens like she had expected of them by now. One day as the kittens sat down, waiting for class to begin, Leomaris and Maristela thought it funny to place a squirty-flower they had found on Jenny's table. The elder queen came in, saw the flower as a token and sniffed it. Then Mari squeezed the end of the pipe and water flew from the flower, straight into Jenny's face. Nyoka, Macavity, Bomba, Tugger, Maristela and Leomaris burst into fits of laughter, Quaxo, Tantomile and Coricopat looked up shocked and tried to hide small titters of laughter and Munk and Alonzo helped Jenny by handing her some clean hankies and glaring at the younger kittens.

The queen shooed them away, and turned to the young kittens. "Whose idea was this?" the kittens fell silent. Jenny scanned the room, eyes locking onto each kitten. "Well?" Jenny looked over the faces again, trying to pick out a suspect. "I'll give you to 'three' then, if the comedian doesn't own up, you will all have to stay in over lunch." Jenny told them. The kittens would have protested against this had they not been scared of her tone of voice. "One," she began, Leo and Mari shifted slightly in their seats. "Two," she continued, each kitten bit their lip should they let loose the truth. "Three!"

"It was Leo and Mari!" the yell was echoed throughout the den several times, before fading. Nyoka's paws shot up to her mouth, but it was too late, the secret was out.

"Leomaris and Maristela, you will stay in at lunch and I shall be speaking to your parents," Jenny scolded before sitting down. Nyoka could feel the burning glare of each cat in the den on her back, her lip quivered and she shrunk down in her seat, not even daring to look at her friends or her sibling to her right. "And I shall be changing seating arrangements to make sure it doesn't happen again," she informed them as she sat down; Nyoka shrank even further into her chair. "You shall now be sitting in alphabetical order, all of you up to the front and I shall point to your chair."

The kittens moved to the front, still glaring at Nyoka. Jenny moved to the front three tables and pointed to the one on the far left. "Alonzo and Bombalurina," the two left the group of kits and took their new seats. She then pointed to the middle table. "Coricopat and Demeter," the two left the queue and sat down. Jenny pointed to the table on the right, the last of the front row tables. "Leomaris and Macavity," she said. The pair grunted quietly and moved to the table, they weren't exactly the best of friends to tell the truth. Jenny moved to the back row of desks and pointed to the far left. "Maristela and Munkustrap," the pair moved grudgingly to the desk. Jenny continued not noticing and moved to the middle table. "Nyoka and Quaxo," the pair moved to the desk, all eyes once again glaring at Nyoka as she moved along the rows. Jenny motioned to Rum Tum Tugger and Tantomile to take the remaining desk, which they did so swiftly. The cats went through their lessons without a sound and when lunch came, although she was allowed, Nyoka remained in her seat and chose not to go outside and play. Maristela and Leomaris sat with their paws to their mouths looking bored, and Nyoka sat looking down at the floor.

Jenny sighed; she couldn't hold a grudge against a kitten for long, her only real weakness if she was honest. "Mari, Leo you may go outside and join the others," the kits looked up not choosing to believe what they heard at first. When Jenny nodded and motioned to the entrance of the den, the pair scampered out of the hole as quick as possible. Nyoka remained in her seat, not looking up. "Noka?" Jenny used the nickname her brothers used around her; the queen looked up at Jenny. "Why are you not going out to play?" she asked as she moved towards the kits desk. Nyoka shrugged her shoulders and didn't say a word. "I'm sure they'll forgive you."

"No they won't, they all hate me now," the queen whimpered.

"Oh, that's not true. They're your brothers and friends; they won't hate you for a little mistake." Jenny tried convincing the young queen.

"Yes they will. They'll hate me forever and ever, cause I told on Mari and Leo, instead of keeping my big mouth shut like they always tell me too." Nyoka began to cry, small tears started to fall down her face, making her fur damp.

"Come on now, if you start to cry, I might start crying too," Jenny said in a whimpering sort of voice.

"I'm not crying, crying's for babies." She said hastily drying up the tears.

"Okay, whatever you say Noka," Jenny smiled at the little queen. "How about I talk to them, I'm sure they don't hate you really. Would that be okay?" Nyoka considered this before nodding slowly. "Good, now I'll go out and bring the others in, while you take this and dry the rest of that water on your face, I think you got a little dose off that squirty-flower," Nyoka gave a watery laugh and Jenny handed her a clean tissue and left the room.

* * *

A month later and all tricks, mishaps and tattle-tailing forgiven, though the seating arrangement remained the same, Jenny would be allowing the kittens out soon to practise their hunting skills; which of course they were all too eager to try. Because of this promise of learning to hunt, the lessons became harder to teach to the hyper kits. So, Jenny came into the den one day with a lesson that would make sure they forgot momentarily about hunting and would prove to be a great performance for the 'Jellicle Winter Ball', held at an annual date each winter when the Jellicle moon shows it's only half a year more till the official 'Jellicle Ball'. Once she had settled the kittens, somewhat, she began the lesson.

"Today kits, we will be learning the story of 'The Nine Elements'," Jenny told them, sitting down in her chair to begin reading.

"What's an element?" Maristela asked, Jenny looked up and smiled.

"How about we read the story and find out?" Jenny asked. Mari frowned and agreed reluctantly. "Now the Elements came to earth a long time ago, sent by the Everlasting Cat herself, to bring peace to the Jellicle Tribe. Originally there were ten of these pure Elements, except one didn't seem to reach the new owner of this power. Each of the nine Elements were placed inside nine of ten newborn kittens, all born on the same day. The kittens and their parents remained unaware of their powers until they grew up. One night the Everlasting Cat came to them all in a dream, and told them of their powers. She told them they would have a name that no other cat would be gifted with, a fourth name."Jenny looked up to see all the kittens staring at her with undivided attention. She continued, "When the kittens awoke, they did not believe what they had heard, but in confiding with each other about the previous night's events quickly came around to wonder at what their powers might be. All would be revealed in time. One day the young kittens were playing in the tall oak trees that surrounded the whole of London..."

"The whole of London, how?" Tugger asked astounded.

"When the kittens were born, Tugger, London hadn't demolished all the trees yet and this junkyard hadn't yet been thought of." Tugger nodded understanding, Jenny carried on with the story. "The kittens were playing in the trees that surrounded the whole of London, when the clouds above them began to swirl around in large circles, loud rumbling sounds came from the midst of the clouds and flashes of light escaped and came close to the group of kittens. They jumped and most ran off, the nine who had received the dream stood looking up at the clouds in wonder. Once the other kittens were out of sight the clouds parted and down from Heaviside came the Everlasting Cat," there was a series of 'ooh's' and 'aah's' when the kits heard this, quickly followed by a round of questions. Jenny quickly silenced them and read on, "The Everlasting Cat came down in the form of their descended leader, Old Archimedes, and he smiled at them as they recognised him and went to touch their former leader. He looked at the younglings and placed them in a circle around him, from the eldest kit to the youngest.

"He stood behind the eldest and called out his element, 'Rock' then whispered his fourth name in his ear. He did the same for the second and third, whose elements he called as 'Fire' and 'Time'. For the fourth it was different as she was a queen, he stood in front of her and knelt on one knee, took her paw and told her 'Air' would be her element, he stood and kissed her cheek once he did the name came to the queen. The fifth he stood behind once again and called out 'Lightning' and told him his name, he moved forward and knelt again and called out 'Ice' and kissed the queen's cheek, and her name also came to her. The seventh he stood behind and to the eight he once again knelt and called out, 'Water' and 'Earth' and gave each their name. The ninth space remained empty but Old Archimedes stood in the space and looked at the sky, the kittens followed suit confused, but saw nothing. He came to the youngest kitten and knelt in front of her and told her 'Heart' and kissed her cheek. He walked to the centre of the circle then vanished.

"The kittens, now aware of their new powers grinned and ran off back to the others. One kitten came out of the tree he was hiding behind and glared at the retreating backs of the nine. He was brother of the youngest, jealous no of the fact he didn't receive either the dream or a power of his own. He kept what he had witnessed a secret. The kittens grew up learning further of their powers and using them to help other cats and to do jobs that would prove difficult without them. All this time the tenth kittens grew more and more angry with his former friends, this of course worried them. One day the tenth was reading a book that told him how to receive magic from another cat, this intrigued the tenth cat, and he searched through the book to know more. The nine cats, oblivious to his actions, were sometime later in the clearing of the deep oak wood, when suddenly chains flew from the trees around them. The nine were chained to the tree and struggled against their bonds. The tenth cat appeared from the midst of the trees and the youngest called for her brother's assistance. He laughed at her, then took out the book and began odd chants and spells walking slowly around the circle of nine. He stopped at the eldest and sneered in his face, then took a sharp stone from the ground and..." Jenny stopped, hesitant to continue.

"What's wrong Jenny?" Nyoka asked sweetly.

"I can't tell you what happens, you're far too young," Jenny stated clearly and with much authority. This of course was followed by much complaining and agitation from the young kits. "How about I tell you after you go out hunting with Skimble?" she said spotting the ginger tom from the entrance. The kittens groaned and followed Skimble, but quickly cheered up once they were outside learning to hunt. Jenny stood by the entrance hoping they would forget about the story and never force her to read the end, for it was not something young kittens like themselves should hear.

* * *

I'm actually proud of myself for this one. Could go into publishing... *Goes off into own little world* NO, no this product belongs to Andrew and Andrew alone!

Review and be nice or the tenth kitten will come and get you!


	4. Chapter 4

**Yeah, chapter 4! Sorry for the long delay, I have been forced to choose GCSE's *pulls a face that couldn't really care less* So without futher to do, here you have it!**

**DISCLAIMER: No, I still don't own Cats. I'm sorry...**

**Chapter 4**

The winter was nearly here and all the elder cats were busying themselves with the preparations for the Winter Ball. The kittens watched as the cats ran to and fro from the clearing, which was the safest place the cats had found to hold the ball, since the humans began to clear the forest. The kittens would, as all kittens usually were, have been excited by the upcoming events of the junkyard, but were distracted by the curiosity as to what happened at the end of Jenny's story that made her hesitate. They had sent Quaxo to find the book in Bustopher's den; the round cat had many a selection of books with many different genres, so they were certain he would have the story. The kittens sat waiting in a hidden part of the junkyard they had found whilst exploring. Most had grown bored of waiting and were fidgeting and getting on the nerves of those around them.

"Will you quit moving Tug?" Munkustrap hissed at his younger brother.

"I'm bored, Misto's been gone for ages!" Tugger whined.

"Yeah, he's evidently found the story, decided to read it himself and then not share the ending with us!" Leomaris complained.

"Do you doubt our brother's loyalty?" Coricopat asked unsheathing his claws slowly.

"Maybe I am, and maybe I'm not," Leo replied.

"Guys could we not get into an argument? What if Jenny or another adult finds us?" Alonzo tried to reason.

"How would they find us? You were the one who told us that no one would look for us here!" Macavity's voice rose. "If they know we're here and they spot us reading the book they'll skin us!"

"Mac, stop it. You're frightening Noka," Munkustrap looked over to the queen, who had brought her knees up to her chin and looked scared.

"Sorry Nyo," Macavity moved over to his younger sibling. The cats were once again silent, until they heard a shuffling noise outside. They tensed and waited for whatever it was to either move on or find them. The noise grew louder and suddenly a little black and white tom popped through the hole at the top.

"I'm back, got the book. On the top shelf, I nearly fell off!" he was hushed by the others. "What? Opps... sorry."

"That's okay Quaxo. Shall I read it?" Quaxo nodded and handed Munk the book. He flicked through the pages, it was a book full of different stories and tales and the story they sought was somewhere near the back. "Okay, nine elements blah, blah, blah. Old Archimedes and the Everlasting Cat, yada, yada. Here we are!" he announced, and quickly began scanning the page. "The tenth cat appeared from the midst of the trees and the youngest called for her brother's assistance. He laughed at her, then took out the book and began odd chants and spells walking slowly around the circle of nine. He stopped at the eldest and sneered in his face, then took a sharp stone from the ground and he pl..." Munkustrap stopped and stared at the page, horrified.

"Go on Munk, what ya waiting for?" Maristela asked impatiently.

"I don't wanna read it," he said pushing the book away.

"Give it here then you chicken," Tugger said and looked down the page. "Eldest, sneered in his face, picked up a sharp stone an... What?" he asked no one in particular. "I ain't reading no more." Leo sniggered at him and took the book and read it to himself, his eyes widened and he handed it to Mari. She looked at him confused, he pointed to a specific part of the page and her mouth fell open. The book was passed around the kittens without a sound, except for the furious shuffling noise of them hastily trying to get rid of the book.

"What's going on?" Nyoka asked quietly. No one answered. She saw Macavity stare open mouthed at the book and moved forward to try and read it for herself. Macavity swiftly snapped the book shut when she leant over his shoulder. "Hey! I wanna read," she complained.

"No way Nyo," Macavity said almost with as much authority as Munkustrap.

"Why not?" she whined. The others didn't respond she sat back and didn't look at them.

"Quaxo, I think you should bring this back to your dad's study," Munkustrap said handing him the book. He nodded and held the book at arm's length as he carried it home. Almost as soon as he left the kittens heard Jenny calling for them. They left the hiding place and smiled at her as she spotted them, Nyoka could tell they were fake.

"There you lot are, I've been searching all over for you! Come and help with the decorations, we need a few extra paws to get the clearing set up in time," the kittens nodded and followed, Quaxo slipped into the group unnoticed.

It was the day of the Winter Ball, and every cat in the junkyard was excited. Even the kittens, who had yet to forget the horrible truth as to why Jenny had refused to tell the ending, were anxiously waiting the night so they could find out if the Ball was as wonderful as the older cats had described. Jenny had pinned a list to the old tree at the entrance to the forest, it detailed those who would be partners for the main dance. In the list were;

Jennyanydots and Skimbleshanks

Asparagus and Jellyorum

Bustopher Jones and Samara – his sister who had come for the Ball

Arabian and Cassandra – a couple who had joined the tribe a few months ago

Victor and Julianne

George and Keely

Munkustrap and Demeter

Alonzo and Bombalurina

Mistoffelees and Victoria – a niece of Bustopher's who had come to live with them

Leomaris and Maristela

Coricopat and Tantomile

Macavity and Lucia – Samara's daughter

And

Rum Tum Tugger and Nyoka

The kittens giggled amongst themselves as they read their names and who they would be dancing with. They were still joking about the pairings as twilight approached. As the kits made their way to the entrance of the forest, Tugger looked around and found someone was missing.

"Hey guys, have you seen Nyoka?" he asked nervously.

"No, why?" Leo asked unconcerned.

"Well, I haven't seen her since this morning. I wonder where she's got too." Tugger asked himself.

"She's probably asleep in our den, I saw her near there a while ago. No idea why though," Misto shrugged as the troupe continued. Tugger turned and went back to Bustopher's den. He stopped outside when he heard muffled noises coming from inside. He sniffed the air, Nyoka was in there. He stepped into the den and searched through the long tunnels that wound through it. The noise grew louder as he went further into the den, it sounded as if someone was crying. He stopped outside the study, where the noise appeared to be coming from. "Nyoka?" he asked as he entered the room. He looked around the large room and spotted a little black shape slumped over the table, crying. "Nyoka, what are you...?"

Tugger went over to the table and looked down, there was the book. Nyoka looked up at him, tears streaming down her face. "Why did they die Tug?" her lip quivered and Tugger quickly embraced his sibling. He rocked her from side to side and calmly shushed her.

"Why'd you read it Nyo? We told you not to," Tugger asked the distressed queen.

"I dunno," she murmured into his mane, he felt her shoulders shaking against him.

"Don't cry Nyo, it's just a story. It's not real," Tugger told her.

"Not crying," she whispered. After a few minutes Nyoka had calmed down and Tugger's mane had dried off.

"How about we go to the Ball, hey? They'll be wondering where we are, besides I can't go without my little sister," he stood offering his paw. She smiled and took it, the pair walked out of the den and towards the forest.

By the time they arrived the Ball had already started, the adults were dancing to the beat of music from a source they couldn't locate. The other kittens sat on a fallen log at the edge of the clearing.

"Where have you two been?" Mari asked suggestively.

"Ew, Mari that's gross!" Leo whispered in her ear, Mari shrugged and turned to watch the elders dancing. "So, where have you been?"

"Nyoka had something she needed to do before she came," Tugger informed them.

"Bet it was fixing her fur like those two over there!" Macavity laughed, pointing at Bomba and Demeter.

"Well, we do apologise for wanting to look good, maybe you and your scruff could try using a comb sometime too," Bomba sneered at Macavity's tatty fur.

"Owned!" yelled Victor squeezing in beside the kittens, Macavity glared at him. "So how come you lot aren't up dancing. From what Jenny tells me, it's hard to keep you in one place for more than five seconds!" the kittens shrugged. "You're not scared, are you?"

"No!" all the kittens shouted a bit too quickly.

"That's what I thought," Victor said smugly.

"We don't get how we're supposed to dance, Jenny never taught us that," Munkustrap explained.

"You're Jellicles; you don't need to learn how to dance! You already know!" he said to the kittens confused faces. "Umm... Okay, when you first ate a mouse, did you need to learn how to do that?" the kittens shook their heads. "That's the same as dancing,"

"No it's not," Nyoka said. Victor sighed, slightly agitated.

"No, it's not, I know that. But it's the same principal, you didn't have someone to teach you how to eat a mouse, you already knew that. Same with dancing, Jellicles don't need to be taught how to dance. It's in our blood!" Victor finished with a flourish. "You get it now?" the kittens nodded slightly. The music changed to a faster, upbeat tune. Tugger's foot began to tap to the beat of the music, Victor noticed this. "See?" he said pointing to Tugger, who immediately stopped tapping. "Do that again Tug,"

"Do what again?" he asked anxiously.

"You were tapping your foot to the beat," Victor told him.

"I was?" Tugger asked confused.

"Yes, you see. We don't even notice that we are able to follow the rhythm as we unconsciously know to dance to it. So how about we get up off our butts, and dance?" Victor asked standing up and motioning for the kits to do the same. Leo and Mari ran off immediately, Cori and Tanto moved away to dance near their father. Munkustrap and Alonzo took Bomba and Demeter off to dance and Quaxo politely asked Victoria to dance with him and the pair ran off as well. Leaving behind Macavity, Tugger, Nyoka and Lucia. "Do you not want to dance?"

"No, not really," Lucia and Macavity said in unison. Victor shrugged and turned to Nyoka. "How 'bout you Nyo?"

"I dunno," she shrugged. Tugger tapped her shoulder.

"I'll dance with you Nyo!" he said brightly, Victor smiled.

"Great, off you go then!" the pair ran off and Macavity and Lucia rolled their eyes at their behaviour. "You two are still kittens you know, start acting like 'em." He said walking away to join Julianne.

The kittens danced and copied some of the adult's moves. When Deuteronomy arrived, Skimble led the adults gave a performance about a legend Jenny had read to them during a rainy day. Deuteronomy sat with the kittens watching as the elders performed for them, once or twice Leo and Mari would run in and join them, only to have Jelly scorn them and send them back. Jenny and Jelly couldn't join in with the events as they were expecting, a surprise for each of their mates, as they were supposed to be infertile, but the Everlasting Cat clearing looked down on them in pity and had given the pair a set of kittens to carry. The pregnant queens had gone off to the darker areas of the forest to chat, whilst the cats continued to dance.

"So, what do you think it's gonna be?" Jelly asked when they were far enough away. Jenny smiled and rubbed the protruding bump.

"Oh, I don't know. I'm hoping for a little queen and maybe a little tom. If there's no tom, I think Skimble may turn into a queen to fit in with the house!" the pair laughed. "What about you dear?"

"Well, a queen would be lovely, but maybe a little tom to take on Asp's name," Jelly said.

"But I thought a cat had one name and that was different from others, was that not so?" Jenny asked confused.

"Yes, but the poor dear is old and near dying himself. I do think it would be good for him to know that there is someone to carry his grand name before he goes," Jelly reasoned.

Jenny nodded, "That makes sense, I don't think it matters what we name them. After all they shall have names for themselves as well."

"True, they could come up with something completely inappropriate knowing the kittens of today, so it would be good to have a proper name to use beforehand!" Jelly joked, the pair laughed merrily. Suddenly Jelly doubled over in pain, gasping for air and clutching her stomach.

"Jelly what's wrong?" Jenny asked concerned.

"I think... Oh! The kits are coming Jenny!" she said in pain.

"Oh my, they're early. Come Jelly, we'll get you back to the clearing and then..." Jenny too suddenly doubled over in pain. "Oh, Heavyside! Mine are coming too!" the pair were forced to sit to reduce the pain, neither could move and worse still the cats had no idea where they were. A rustle was heard from the bushes, the queens froze fearing a large predator had found them. The bushes continued to rustle for a moment longer before a little black and red ball fell out. "Nyoka? What are you doing all the way out here?" Jenny asked the little queen.

"I... I wondered where you were going. I shouldn't have eavesdropped, I'm sorry," she explained, her ears drooped. Jelly cried out in pain, Nyoka looked up confused. "What's wrong Jelly?" she asked moving over to the queen.

"Nyo, go back to the clearing and fetch Skimble, Asparagus and a few other toms and bring them here, understand?" the queen nodded and ran off through the dark trees towards the sounds of music and laughter; leaving the queens, once again, alone. The old queens sat gasping for breath, Jelly reached out and held Jenny's paw.

"We'll be alright Jen. Nyoka will get help," she said to her friend reassuringly. Jenny nodded and squeezed the paw in hers. They heard loud footsteps and a yell from the front of the group, telling them to hurry. Nyoka burst through the trees, followed by the elder toms, the kittens and finally Deuteronomy. Skimble and Asparagus moved to their mates asking what was wrong, when they found that the kittens were ready to come, Deuteronomy sent Victor and George to look after the kittens. They sat on the ground trying not to listen to the yells of pain coming from the old queens, many put their paws over their ears to drown out the noise, and others sat wondering whether the queens were alright.

In the early hours of the morning as the pink lines of the sun appeared from above the trees, the yells fell silent and the forest was once again quiet and unmoving. The kittens looked towards the adolescents and George went off to see what was happening. He returned a few moments later, smiling.

"What's going on George?" Victor asked.

"Jenny and Jelly have had their kits. All six are healthy," he said grinning.

"Six?" Victor asked standing up. "But Deuteronomy said there would only be at least three, that's double!" he said astounded.

"Yeah, I know. I can count!" George gave a snarky remark. Victor rolled his eyes, "Kittens Deuteronomy said you can come and see them, if you're quiet. They're asleep and knowing the amount of noise some of you make, you'd wake them!" he said looking pointedly at Leomaris and Maristela.

"Who us?" they asked innocently. The kittens laughed and slowly stood up. Tugger shook Nyoka, who had fallen asleep on his shoulder and told her what had happened. Then they all trouped back to where they had left the queens, many hours previous. They approached quietly and the adults moved so as they could see clearly. There was a loud sigh from Bomba and Demeter as they laid eyes on the kittens, which was shushed by Mari, surprisingly. The kittens moved forward, Bomba and Demeter going to Jenny and Mari and Leo moving over to Jelly. The other kits stayed a respectable distance from them, seeing as they were part of neither family.

Jenny had only two kittens, and they now lay in her arms fast asleep. Both were near identical in colour patterns and markings. The first a tom had a white coat with dark orange and black splodges over it, his ears seemed a little lopsided and his nose was turned up at the end. The queen sleeping beside him, had the same pattern of coat, but it was lighter and she didn't have the same lopsided ears, which would make it easier to tell them apart.

"What will you name them mum?" Demeter asked quietly.

"I shall name the tom Mungojerrie and the queen Rumpleteazer," she smiled down at the kits.

"What about you Jelly? What will the names of these four be?" Asparagus asked his mate. She looked down at the four and took in their appearances, all four were toms. The first was a mixture of grey, cream and black his nose was turned down at the end unlike the others and he was considerably longer too. The second was a dark grey, brown and black. He looked like her mate in his younger days. The last two had a white mixed with cream coat with dark brown spots covering it, both were very fluffy and looked cute to cuddle up to. Jelly smiled as names for the kits came to her.

"I shall name the eldest, Admetus. The second, Asparagus," her mate smiled down at her and she continued, "The third, Carbuckety and the youngest Bill Bailey."

The cats quietly congratulated the queens on the birth and naming of their new kittens, before carefully helping them back to their dens. The cats left them and the adolescents went out around the surrounding territory, shouting the news of the kittens' births.

* * *

*grins proudly* I think it's officially the longest chapter I have written so far!

BTW: I think I've been focusing on Nyoka a bit too much for the previous chapters and this one, I don't know why that is though. Don't ask, you probably won't get an answer you can understand. For any question I answer, I tend to go on and on and seem to loose what I'm talking about and it'll come out like on of Jack Sparrow's rants! Like just now...

Review please and I'll try to talk sense!


	5. Chapter 5

**I'm Back! I wasn't dead really but I could've been... well I was pretty sick. I have had soooo many problems with this chapter! First I lost the memory stick it was saved on so I had to start again, then the computer had a malfunction and lost the story, then I went to Spain and someone lost the computer! So here we are finally. it's probably not as good as I had wanted from the first time, but it's as good as it's getting.**

_Thanks for all your reviews and those who gave me ideas through them - most of this was based on _**Roselna**_'s review_

******DISCLAIMER:**** Don't own Cats.**

**Chapter 5**

It had been little over a month since the Ball and the young kittens had opened their eyes. Being the elder generation, the twelve kits had now finished Jenny's schooling and could now enjoy their days without her, as well as helping out around the junkyard. The queens would help with the younger kittens and the toms would help with watch duty at night. A position which Alonzo took quite seriously.

Of course not all cats were as enthusiastic as others. On one particular night, the watch was to be covered by himself, Macavity, Tugger and Leomaris.

_A fine group to work with, _Alonzo had thought, and he was starting to think his assumption was correct. Leomaris was hanging from a nearby tree flicking Macavity's ear, the latter was becoming increasingly irritated, whilst Tugger sat on a stump fixing his mane, which had grown into what the brothers had called a shrub. Alonzo sighed and tried to concentrate on making sure nothing upset the sleeping cats in the junkyard. Though that was now proving hard as Macavity lashed out at Leo. The pair fell to the ground rolling around in the soft snow while Tugger jumped up on the stump to avoid the wrestling duo from ruining his mane.

"Would you lot cut it out!" Alonzo snapped. Mac jumped off Leo and dusted himself down.

"He started it!" he pointed at the tom who was lying in the snow giggling.

"Started what? I was bored from staying out so long, so technically it's his fault," he pointed to Alonzo accusing him.

"Yeah, we were supposed to go in when?" Tugger asked jumping down from the stump.

"We'll go inside in five minutes," Alonzo said officially.

"You said that about three hours ago," Leo complained. "We've been out here for ages!"

"It's only been an hour or two," Alonzo told him.

"Dude, we've been out here since six. It's nearly two in the morning!" Tugger said.

"All right, fine! We'll go in!" Alonzo gave in. The toms grinned at each other and started to go back. They trudged slowly back to the main clearing another argument between Leo and Macavity starting up as they walked. Alonzo tried to ignore them whilst Tugger smirked listening to the pair squabble. Suddenly he stopped in his tracks, ears pricked and eyes scanning around him. Alonzo noticed this and also came to a halt, causing the still arguing pair to crash into him.

"What's wrong Tugger?" Alonzo asked, unnerved by his brother's actions.

"Did you guys hear that?" he asked quietly.

"Hear what? Your imagination is inside your head Tug, along with your ego!" Macavity said sarcastically.

"Har har, no seriously. Do you hear that?" he looked over his shoulder as the sound came again. The others stood perfectly still for a few moments waiting. Leo was becoming bored and was about to leave the trio, when he heard the sound.

"I hear it! I hear it!" he yelled jumping up and down. The remaining toms shushed him annoyed.

"What do you reckon it is Tug? Tugger...?" Alonzo asked and looked round to see his younger sibling running off into the trees. "Tugger! Where are you going?"

"To help! They might need help!" Tugger yelled running off.

"But you don't know if they're a danger or not!" Alonzo tried to make him see reason.

"They still need help!" Tugger called before disappearing into trees. The rest stood looking at the spot he had disappeared for a few seconds, before Leo took off into the overgrowth.

Alonzo sighed, "I best go make sure they don't get hurt," he started to move off before turning to Macavity who was going the other way. "What are you doing?"

"I'm gonna get help, if it is something dangerous you'll need some help," he reasoned. Alonzo nodded and turned away towards the trees. He ran through the thick forest, jumping over fallen logs and branches and avoiding prickly bushes, before coming to a halt beside Leo on the other side. Leo looked up at him confused and he gave the same look of confusion back.

"Guys over here!" they turned to see Tugger beckoning for them beside a dark alleyway. They quickly rushed over to the tom's side and looked down the alley.

"Tugger what...?" Alonzo began but was silent as the moon appeared from behind a cloud to reveal the horror that lay in the alley. All around where the still and unmoving bodies of a tribe of cats, most covered in blood. The toms stood gaping down the alley in shock at what they had found and slightly scared that whoever did this could come and get them. But somehow they were rooted to the spot. Suddenly they heard the pounding paws of elder cats coming from the forest.

"Alonzo, Tugger? Leo?" came the familiar call of Skimbleshanks.

"Over here Skimble!" Alonzo yelled not taking his eyes from the alley. The cats rushed over worried.

"What is going on, Macavity said something about..." Skimble started but fell silent upon seeing the mass of cats inside the alley. Skimble moved over to the nearest tom. He checked his wrist, placed a paw over his chest and checked his eyes. He sighed and stood up. The others bowed their heads in respect to the recently departed cats.

They were about to turn and leave and a loud clang was heard, the cats whirled around to see a black tom stumbling down the alley towards them. Skimble moved forward and the tom collapsed on top of him. The cat looked up with pleading eyes.

"Please... help them. Keep them safe. Everlasting Cat... keep them safe. Please..." the tom pointed in the direction of Leo and drew his last breath. Skimble held him until his heart stopped beating. The silence was as thick as the fog covering the dingy alley, the cats remained as still as the cats around them, as if waiting for them to jump up and denounce them as fools. None did.

"W-what did he mean?" Tugger finally broke the silence. The cats turned to him. "I mean... by them. Who was he talking about?"

"A survivor maybe?" Victor suggested looking towards his uncle.

"Perhaps Victor," Skimble nodded. The toms moved further into the alley searching through the large amount of bodies for any possibility that there could be at least one alive. The kittens stood at the entrance with George watching in case whatever did this should return. After a long search the elder cats returned having found no survivors.

"But he said..." Tugger tried to argue with the railway tom but it was no use.

"No Tug, there's not. He must have been delusional. The fact he was dying confused him," Skimble told the young kit, though he wished that there were some survivors, one at the most. "Let's go home."

The party turned and marched out of the alley. Alonzo following at the back noticed they were sort of one. He turned back to the alley to see Leomaris half-asleep on a bin.

"Leo! Come on we're leaving!" Alonzo called back. The group turned and told him not to make such a racket. Alonzo blushed a deep scarlet for being told off. Tugger ran back and shook Leo by the shoulders.

"Wha... wha's goin on?" he asked deliriously.

"Wake up!" Tugger yelled in his ear. The smaller tom jumped and crashed into the bin sending the lid flying off and into the wall opposite, causing a huge bang to rebound off the walls and into the humans homes. After a long while of humans yelling in a strange freaky language, the alley was silent again. Leo rounded on Tugger.

"What did you do that for, ya great clutz?" Leo yelled. "Those humans coulda thrown bricks at us, like they did to Victor!"

"Boys two things," Victor said joining them. "One they were adolescents like me and don't have any control over what they decide to do. And two, if you keep yelling they probably will."

The pair became quiet and Victor smiled at them. A sudden noise from the depths of the bin made them jump sky high and land with their fur bristling. The whole group had been scared by the noise and each was wondering what it had been. The elder toms edged slowly towards it and Leo, being as stupid as he was, marched over and stuck his head into the bin. They all froze wondering if the little tom would ever resurface from the can.

"Pwah it stinks in here!" he called, the cats rolled their eyes. He was fine. "Look what I found!" he came back out but he now had a small kitten, from the looks of it a queen, in his arms. It was a tiny thing with a black coat and red headfur; her eyes were open and shone a deep mahogany brown in the dark night. Tugger went over to the bin and looked for himself.

"Hey, there's a whole bunch in here!" The cats surged forward to get a look. Soon most had a kitten in their arms. Skimble had a long brown and black mess with calm blue eyes, Victor carried a fidgeting brown and white tom with sparkling green eyes and George stood next to him with a kit of similar colour patterns but had ocean blue eyes. Alonzo was smiling at a chocolate brown queen with matching brown eyes and Tugger was holding a scruffy grey and gold queen with ecstatic blue eyes.

"Do you think the parents named them?" Alonzo asked.

Skimble shook his head, "I don't know lad."

"Skimble what about this?" Skimble turned to see Leo pointing at something on the ground.

"Must have fallen off the bin when you screamed like a little queen!" Tugger laughed.

"That's only cause you scared me, and I did not sound like a queen!" he shot back.

"Let's not get into an argument, again." Skimble tried to keep the peace and lifted the paper. There was a list of names on it, scribbled quickly but it was illegible. "It says here they're names are; Plato, Tumblebrutus, Pouncival, Exotica, Electra and Etcetera. But it doesn't say which owns the name."

"Well they'd hardly have time, especially when whoever did this was coming," George said in a matter-of-factual way.

"We'll just have to guess then," Alonzo said in more of a statement than a question. He looked back at the queen and thought through the names. "I think she should be called Exotica!"

"Mine's Tumblebrutus, seeing as he won't sit still!" Victor laughed as the tom tried again to leap from his arms.

"Then this is Pouncival," George said as the kitten hiccupped, making the little thing jump and whack his head off George's chin.

"I think Plato would suit him alright." Skimble said he himself struggling to hold the large tom.

"This is Electra!" Leomaris called dancing on the spot. The cats laughed at his acts before turning to Tugger.

"I guess she's Etcetera," he said looking down at the scruffy queen. She looked back up at him, her eyes almost smiling. Tugger gave a yelp as she tugged at his mane.

"Looks like you've got an admirer already Tug!" Alonzo laughed speaking Leo's mind, seeing as he was too busy cackling to himself. The cats laughed all the way back to the junkyard. They explained their story to Deuteronomy and the kittens were given to the adolescent couples as the adults already had enough. The night quickly turned into day, but the cats from the watch last night wouldn't be awake till way past noon.

* * *

*sighs* Sorry... I'll make the next chapter twice as good!

Review or else...


	6. Chapter 6

**Yay next chapter officially the longest chap yet! For every grey line it's a change of scene and date, just so you don't get confused. This is the chap the kits find out their powers SPOILER!**

_This chapter's dedicated to my cat!_

******DISCLAIMER:** Still don't own Cats, but I claim the story!

**Chapter 6**

The day was quiet and peaceful in the junkyard, the young kittens were in shared lessons with Jenny and Jelly as there was now such a large number they needed two pairs of eyes to watch them. The elder cats were sleeping in shaded parts of junk piles while the adolescents scoured through the dark forest for lunch. On the other side of the park however it wasn't so quiet, the older kittens were sitting by the tall oak tree chatting and playing games. Tanto and Cori were chatting quietly on the roots of the tree laughing at the antics of most of the other kittens. Quaxo was climbing the tree above them staying out of others way, Tugger and Nyoka were chasing each other through the bushes because Nyoka had 'accidentally' spilt honey on his mane. Macavity, Munk, Alonzo, Demeter and Bomba were playing a game of cards which Mac was easily cheating at and Mari and Leo were rolling around in the grass. The kits had found the place when Tugger was being chased by Etcetera and Electra. They had been there since early morning and would soon be thinking about going home for lunch.

Coricopat stood up and stretched his bones as he'd been sitting in the same position since they came here. He heard a small thump above his head and looked up to see Quaxo walking along on a wobbly branch; he opened his mouth to tell him to be careful. Suddenly there was a loud crunch and the cats nearest turned to see the young tuxedoed tom falling down from the tree, the branch had snapped off at an odd angle and was heading towards the spot Tugger and Nyoka were playing. Loud crashes and cries came from all around, everything went blurry and Coricopat soon could no longer tell which blur was which kit. A light appeared and no matter how many times he blinked it still stayed as bright. The light began to grow, filling out all the blurry spots. Cori shook his head as the area around him began to spin. He fell over holing his head trying to stop the spinning, he cried out in pain, he didn't know what the pain was or where it was coming from but it was like he was being forced backwards. The world around him turned a bright white and the pain continued, the world was still swirling and he still couldn't see properly. He passed out.

He opened his eyes suddenly. He blinked in confusion, the old tree was back, the grass was green, the weird light had gone and he could see clearly again. There was Mac, Munk, Dem and Bomba playing cards, Leo and Mari rolling in the dirt, Tanto was beside him, Tugger and Nyo were playing nearby and Quaxo... Quaxo! The branch!

He quickly got off the roots and looked up in the tree. Tanto stared at him bewildered; he ignored her and searched for the little tom. He spotted him climbing onto the branch.

"Quaxo! What are you doing?" he yelled nearly causing the kit to lose his balance.

"Climbing!" he replied after steadying himself.

"If you're going on that branch grab onto the one above!" Cori instructed him. The cats were all looking now, curious as to what the tom was talking about.

"Why?" Quaxo asked holding onto the branch and taking a step forward. The wood crumbled underneath his light weight and fell to the ground. Quaxo was safe holding onto the branch for grim death was safe, and Nyoka and Tugger? They too were safe, because of their curiosity to Cori's outburst; they had spotted the branch and moved out of the way. The others stood in awe at the grey twin, who held his arms out for Quaxo to jump into them.

Once he was safe on the ground questions were fired at Cori. How he knew what was going to happen, was the most frequently asked. He didn't have an answer for that, yet. The kits agreed not to tell the adults about it and Cori had a new nickname – The Predictor.

* * *

It had been a while since the near fatal tree accident and most things were back to normal. Normal meaning Cori hadn't had the same weird experience since then. The night was closing in and some of the kittens were still playing in the clearing. Amongst them were Rum Tum Tugger, Etcetera, Electra, Exotica and Victoria. Tugger had become quite popular with these queens and all the others as well, but the four seemed to have formed some sort of fan club and constantly followed him around. Naturally he used this to his own advantage. Should he require anything whilst they were around he would merely have to hint at it and they would run off and return with the item in minutes.

On this night Tugger was lounging on the car boot watching the queens fight for his attention. Etcetera was yelling – or something that sounded like yelling, Electra was doing some acrobatic tricks she had learnt from George and Exotica was brushing his mane back into place. The only queen who wasn't trying to get his attention tonight was Victoria. Tugger had noticed this and was a little confused. She had been one of the main leaders of the fan club before Etcetera learnt how to speak – or squeal. Now she would follow around but not scream and flutter her eyelids at him when he made an appearance in the yard. The younger kittens were called in by Jenny as it was getting late, leaving Tugger and Victoria alone.

"So Vicky," he said smoothly. The white queen turned to him, blue eyes gazing innocently into his. "What's going on with you recently?"

"What do you mean Tugger?" she asked calmly.

"Well you haven't been following me around as much as you used to and I just wanted to know if I did something wrong to make you hate me or something," Tugger played off her guilty side.

"Oh no Tugger, you didn't do anything!" she cried shaking her head. "I've just... well – been busy..."

Tugger raised his eyebrows, "What with?" he asked quietly.

"Nothing much, just stuff. You know," she scoffed trying to change the subject.

"No I don't," Tugger said. He moved in closer to her, closing the gap between them. "You've been avoiding me for a while now. I wanna know why." Victoria stuttered and muttered words Tugger couldn't decipher. He leaned in and kissed her on the lips. Victoria's eyes went wide in shock not from Tugger's kiss, but from who was stood behind him. Tugger turned to see a fuming Quaxo marching towards them. Victoria quickly backed off towards her uncle's den before something happened and Tugger put on a bright smile as if nothing had passed between himself and Victoria. "Hey Quaxy!"

"Don't 'hey Quaxy' me!" the tux yelled in the Maine Coon's ear. "What did you think you were doing?"

"Believe it or not, I didn't actually think about it. Just sorta happened," Tugger grinned.

"Oh I'll believe it. I'll believe you're dead meat!" Quaxo jumped on him and forced the taller tom off the car onto the ground. They rolled through the dirt, Quaxo clawing at his mane and Tugger mainly staring dumbfounded back at him. The older kit pushed the smaller tom off and got to his feet; both took defensive stances and began circling each other. "How dare you touch her! She's only a kitten!"

"So are you, you don't need to make decisions for her! She's old enough to fend for herself!" Tugger yelled anger boiling up inside.

"That doesn't mean you have to make them for her!" he yelled his own level of anger reaching bursting point.

"Don't be getting all jealous now Quaxy, just cause you wanna have her for yourself!" Tugger taunted. Quaxo snapped and lunged at the tom but before he reached him something odd happened. He froze in midair and a weird sensation passed through him, a tingling heat that flew through his veins and out of the tips of his claws. As electricity. It hit Tugger straight in the chest and he was sent flying backwards into a pile of junk. Quaxo fell to the ground with a thump, but recovered quickly as Tugger moved towards him. He was shaky from the shock but he closed the gap between them in seconds. He took the tux by his shoulder scruffs and lifted him so his feet left the ground. "What the hell was that?"

"I dunno... I – it just sorta happened. I don't know how I did it! Honest!" Quaxo quaked in the tall toms face. Tugger threw the small cat away from him. As he left his grip, Tugger had an odd feeling rising from his chest. It was as if things were going in slow motion as Quaxo moved slowly away from him, he felt a powerful surge run through his arms and out of his paws. As fire. The flame hit Quaxo in the stomach and this caused him to fly twice as far from the manned tom. Tugger himself fell backwards in shock. When he looked up, he saw Quaxo rolling on the ground – crying. Tugger jumped up and ran towards him. He dropped to his knees in front of the small tom and lifted his head onto his lap.

"Quaxo? Are you alright?" Tugger asked anxiously. The young kit looked at him then down at his chest, the fur was scorched off and there was a nasty bleeding gash. Tugger grimaced, "I'm sorry tux. I didn't mean too, I dunno what happened. I'm sorry..."

"What's going on? What's all the racket abou..." Nyoka walked in from one of the pipes around the yard and froze when she saw Quaxo. "What happened?"

"Doesn't matter Nyo. Go get Jenny," Quaxo told her. Nyoka ran off and returned with Jenny, Jelly and Old Deuteronomy in a matter of minutes. The two queens quickly had Quaxo patched up and took care of Tugger's singed mane. They quizzed the toms about how they had gotten like this, but Deuteronomy saved them an explanation by saying they would tell them when they were ready. But by ready they had no idea what he meant. The only cat they confided in about the discovery of their 'powers' was Nyoka and she came up with the nickname 'Burning Bush' for Tugger and 'Storm' for Quaxo. Only she and the other two knew what she was referring too. For now.

* * *

The days passed peacefully and without fights. The cats were sitting on the junk again letting the sun soak into their fur and through their thick layer of skin. Given half the chance they would gladly lay there in the morning light for the remainder of the day, but sharing their home with the large human creatures didn't come without its drawbacks. Nearly every day there was trash and litter that was thrown around the park and in the past, due to unfortunate encounter with a beer six pack holder, one of the young kittens was strangled by it. One this particular day Demeter was walking through the park trees, when she came across an abandoned pile of rubbish that stretched across most of the area the kittens usually played. She frowned thinking to herself how humans could be so careless with things like this. She moved through the path looking through the junk, there were bottles, crisp packets, tins, cans, food remains and worst of all several beer holders.

She ran back to the yard to fetch an adult who would be able to help in the cleaning up of the forest. After informing Skimble, who had rounded up most of the tribe, they headed back to the clearing and started removing the trash. They worked in groups of three hoping to get the mess cleared up quicker that way. Demeter had been paired up with Bomba and Maristela, and the three had started work in the far corners of the clearing, where the junk was thickest due to wind blowing it over. The queens worked on the bushes and trees clearing away the junk from the objects before picking them up so as to save time from going back and forth. As they worked they hummed a tune that Jenny had sung to them when they were younger. They worked on the patch for a few hours before it was completely clean, and then moved onto another. Mari and Bomba stayed together while Demeter went a little bit further off to search for any more junk. She came across a small patch not far from where they were working and began clearing that away, listening to the birds and the sound of the little river flowing a few feet from her. She cleared up the rubbish and on her way back spotted another pile, once she cleared that up she tried to head back but was stopped by a next – slightly larger – pile.

She gave a frustrated sigh and sat on the ground, the forest must have something against her. Or maybe she had went the wrong way. She looked around and saw Bomba up a tree and Mari on the roots. No she hadn't gone the wrong way and, if she remembered correctly, she was sitting the same distance from them as she had been when she found the first pile of rubbish. She rubbed her temples in confusion and tried to think straight. Had she been walking in circles? And how had the same pile of junk continue to reappear?

She lay down on the ground and breathed in and out slowly, trying to push the crazy thoughts out of her head. She decided to simply lay there and concentrate on nothing for a while. "The rubbish fumes must be getting to my head," she whispered to herself. Demeter turned her face upwards where the warmth of the sun pushed through the leaves of the towering trees. Her paws ran through the soft grass beneath her, feeling the soft soil and small daisies and other wild flowers passing under them. She imagined how clean the forest would be after they had finished cleaning and how much better the trees and plant would grow without the clutter surrounding them. A large shadow fell over her and she opened her eyes to figure out what had blocked the sun's rays. She looked up to see a huge sycamore tree directly in front of her. Her brows furrowed in confusion, the tree had been a mere sapling before. How had it suddenly grown so high?

"Deme?" came a confused voice behind her. She turned to see Bomba looking at her in surprise. "How did you do that?" she asked.

"Do what Bomby?" Demeter enquired. Bomba motioned around her sister's form and the younger queen looked down and gasped. There around her were flowers of every colour and size. Daises, Daffodils, Roses, Bluebells, Snowdrops and many more she couldn't name surrounded her and stopped at a distance of three feet from her, where the sycamore tree was. She remembered what she had been thinking about and turned to her sister in shock.

"I thought about how the trees and flowers would grow better without the rubbish and suddenly the tree and flowers grew!" Demeter exclaimed.

"You did what?" Mari asked coming over to join them. "Wow!" she said looking at the flowers.

"Yeah, but you can't tell anyone!" Demeter pleaded.

"Why not?" Mari asked.

"Just keep it a secret for now, please?" she begged. Bomba nodded and turned to Mari to glare at her until she submitted.

"Oh alright! I won't tell!" she agreed rather annoyed. "Can I at least tell Leo?"

"No! You and him are the biggest blabbermouths in the whole junkyard!" Bomba rolled her eyes. Mari glared at her before sighing and promising not to tell anyone about Demeter's power. And thanks to Demeter the forest was clear of junk in no time and the two had come up with a nickname for her.

"No, I don't want one really," she had protested. But the queens continued to irritate her about it and she finally agreed to the nickname 'Green Claws'.

* * *

The quarry always was a dangerous place, especially for a kitten. That's way the adults stayed clear of it at all costs and told the kittens to do the same. But knowing kittens they never listen. This was the thought running through Munkustrap's mind as he raced towards the stone hole in the early hours of the morning along with several of the other kittens.

"And remind me again, who's bright idea was it to tell the kittens the quarry was a great place to spot fairies?" he yelled as he ran.

"It was Leo!" Tugger yelled from the back of the group.

"No, it was definitely Macavity!" Leo responded quite amused.

"You know rightly it was you Leo, you twit! Stop trying to pin the blame on me!" Mac yelled back at him. Leo rolled his eyes and continued running towards the quarry. It wasn't far to go, but every few meters seemed like a mile for most. They reached the quarry and found that it was a lot bigger than they had first anticipated; they would never find the kittens if they stayed in a group – especially with Leo and Mac being pissed off at each other again. Munkustrap split them into groups and decided to venture off by himself.

He ran around the deeper areas of the quarry, keeping in mind that the humans would soon arrive to start drilling and the kittens wouldn't have enough sense to stay away from the machines. He searched in every nook, cranny and cave but they were nowhere to be found. He was about to leave the deep hole to find the others to ask if they had spotted them, when he heard a high pitched giggle he recognised immediately. He ran to the source of the sound to see the kittens playing near an unsteady pile of boulders.

"Kittens!" he called over to them. They turned their heads but upon seeing the older tom, ran and hid behind the rocks. Munkustrap sighed impatiently he didn't have time for this, the adults would soon be awake and looking for them and when they found them they would be in deep shit. Munkustrap jumped down and ran round the back to get them, but the kittens obviously thinking he was playing a game, had ran around the other side. Deciding the only way to catch them was to use his head; Munkustrap ran a quarter of the way around the boulder. As he expected the kittens ran the full half way and he quickly turned around and caught them before they could react. The kittens jumped as Munk caught them and crashed into the smaller boulders on the bottom, causing the ones on top shake hazardously.

"Munkus watch out!" came a cry from a higher area of the quarry. He looked up to see Tugger, Nyoka and Macavity running down on one side and Leo, Mari and Alonzo jumping down the other. He looked up to where Mac was pointing and saw several huge boulders falling, right where they were standing. The kittens froze in terror and held onto Munkustrap. The older tom held onto them and prayed to Everlasting Cat that something would save them. He closed his eyes.

He cracked one eye open. It had been a few minutes since the boulder should have crushed them, but nothing had happened. He looked around, the boulder wasn't there. He saw the rescue party staring open mouthed at something above him, the tom looked up and saw the boulder hovering a few inches above them. He stared in wonder at the hovering stone before realising where they were standing, Munk dragged the kittens out from underneath and set them a good distance from the stone. He looked back up at the stone and realised there was nothing holding it up, the edge of the quarry and the boulder tower were a few metres from it and there was no sign of anything else that could have stopped it. The rest of the group walked slowly over towards Munk and the younger kits, who were still huddled together in fright, not taking their eyes off the stone. They stood in complete silence for a few minutes before Alonzo spoke.

"How did you do that Munkus?" he asked quietly.

"I... I have no idea Lonzo," he muttered. "Wonder when the stone will fall... down?" As he said this the boulder collapsed to the ground with a loud smash. The kits jumped sky high and landed with their fur bristled.

"Y... you definitely did something there Munk," Tugger stuttered staring at his brother in astonishment.

"Yeah maybe," he whispered. The others didn't know what to say and stood once again in silence. Macavity spotted the sun beginning to rise in the sky.

"I think we should get home, you know before dad wakes up," Mac suggested.

"Old D doesn't wake up till noon," Leo complained.

"Okay then, Jenny wakes up," he reiterated. The kittens bit their lip remembering last time Jenny caught them at something.

"I think we should go," Nyoka said wisely. The kittens nodded and ran from the quarry, praying that none of the other cats were awake yet. Especially not Jenny.

* * *

Unfortunately they reached the yard just as Jenny was coming home from teaching the mice croquet, so they received a right telling off, the younger kits were sent home and Leo received several clips around the ear for telling them to go to the quarry in the first place. The worst part was given by Old Deuteronomy when he told the elder kittens that they were not to play with the younglings for a month. Meaning that without the younger kittens imagination the older cats would be bored stiff until the Jellicle Ball. The kittens were sitting by their favourite tree trying to think of something to do.

"We could climb the tree?" Quaxo suggested.

"Don't you remember what happened last time?" Cori reminded, Quaxo nodded.

""How bout we go find fairies in the quarry?" Mari taunted.

"Shut up 'Stela!" Leo snapped massaging his ear.

"We could go find queens," Tugger said all too suggestively.

"No!" the group yelled.

"It was only a suggestion!" Tugger defended. The kits rolled their eyes and went back to thinking.

Leo stood up and yawned, "I'm bored!" he exclaimed.

"Aren't we all?" Macavity asked.

"I'm gonna jump in the lake!" he said suddenly.

"Erm... why?" Alonzo asked not really wanting an answer.

"Cause it'll be a lot more fun than sitting here!" Leo said and ran off towards the large expansion of water.

"Leo don't!" Munkustrap yelled as the rest ran after him. Too late, he jumped into the air and dive bombed into the lake. The kittens gasped as he disappeared under the water and waited eagerly for him to resurface. After what felt like ages the tom appeared over the water and the others breathed a sigh of relief.

"Hey guys come on in the waters perfect!" he called beckoning for them to join. Most of the kits shook their heads but Mari took a few steps backwards, ran to the edge and jumped in, splashing water in the other's faces. A few laughed and many more complained that their fur was wet.

"I hate water, it's too wet!" Bombalurina complained as she frantically tried to dry off her fur. Tugger caught Misto's eye and the pair of them crept up behind her, picked her up together and threw her into the water. She screamed as she flew through the air and even more when she resurfaced. Several cats on the ground laughing. Nyoka, copying from older example, pushed Tugger in and jumped up and down giggling when he came back up his mane sticking to his skin, making him look like a drowned rat. Soon all the other cats were in the lake splashing each other and daring each other to swim out as far as they could. Leo swam out into the middle of the lake taunting the others and calling them chickens. The rest told him to come back but he swam around ignoring them, until Munk threatened to tell Jenny.

"Alright I'm coming! Don't get you tail in a knot!" he yelled starting to swim back. He suddenly stopped, eyes widening and his face frozen in horror. In a blink of an eye he was gone under the water.

"Leo!" they yelled, wondering where he had gone.

"Leo, come back up!" Mari called, hoping he would listen.

"Where's he gone?" Nyoka asked frightened. Tugger held her hand and looked over at Munk.

"Alonzo and Mac you come with me and we'll go find him," Munk instructed. "The rest of you stay here."

"I wanna come," Mari protested. "He's my brother!"

"I'm the oldest, so apparently I know best. Just stay here please," Munk told her. She crossed her arms but stayed where she was. The other toms swam out to the middle and dived under. They swam down and saw Leo struggling to get himself free from something. It was a giant plant of some kind, it had caught his foot and dragged him under. He saw them comming and motioned for them to leave. They looked at each other confused and stayed where they were, watching to see what he would do. They watched as he kicked and flailed about trying to get free. A bright flash came from the tom and hit the plant, it immediatly let go of his foot and the tom swam quickly to the surface.

The other toms quickly swam up too as their breath was catching short. They gasped in air as they reappeared on the surface, they ooked over to see Leo grinning at them not even out of breath. They swam back over to the group and got out of the lake. The toms caught their breath lying on the grass and the others shook the water out of their fur.

"Wha - What was that?" Alonzo gasped.

Leo brushed the final drops of water off his coat, "What d'ya mean?" he asked.

"What do you think? How did you make that bright light?" Macavity said irritated.

"I dunno, I was just wanting the thing to let me go and then it just sorta happened!" he informed their confused faces.

"Loads of odd things have been happening recently haven't there?" Bombalurina observed. "I mean first Cori being able to see Quaxo falling from the tree and then..." she looked at Deme who was staring back and Tugger, Misto and Nyoka looked at each other knowingly. "Then Munk stops that boulder and now this happens! What's going on?"

"I don't know Bomba, we'll ask dad if something serious comes up," Munk reasured.

"And me nearly drowning wasn't serious?" Leo asked shocked.

"No, no not really," Tugger joked.

"Seriously though, if something happens and nothing we do can help them, then we'll ask dad for help," Munk said. The cats nodded in agreement. "I think we should get back it's nearly dark, we don't want Jenny up our tails again!" the kittens nodded again and ran off into the forest and back to the junkyard.

* * *

Tantomile sighed. She had had the most wonderful day ever. Her brothers had got her a present and it wasn't even her birthday, she looked at the bracelet's sparkling gem in her paw. The day had been made even better when her crush had talked to her, true it had been short but he had talked to her! She was so happy with her life right now. She twirled on the spot and began to dance to a tune she remembered from the Winter Ball. She twirled around the yard, jumping and leaping gracefully. She felt like she was almost floating. Like the world had fallen off her shoulders and nothing could pull her down. She closed her eyes and continued to prance around the yard, performing jumps even she didn't think she could pull off. She sighed once again and sat down. She looked up at the moon which appeared to have become larger while she was dancing. She gazed at the stars listening to hear what they had to say. She could have sat there all night but right then she was interrupted from her daydream by a call for her. It sounded close but when she looked around the mountains of junk she couldn't place where it had come from.

"Tantomile! Look down!" the voice called again. Look down? She looked down and to her surprise she saw Tugger looking up at her. But the thought of Tugger soon flew from her when she realised where she was sitting. She was high up but she couldn't remember climbing the junk for a seat and she was in the middle of the clearing. She screamed.

"What's going on?" Munkustrap burst out through the junk pile nearest Tugger, he was followed by Quaxo, Demeter and Nyoka. Tugger looked at them open mouthed and pointed upwards.

"Tanto what are you doing up there?" Quaxo asked quite frightened.

"I don't know!" she cried.

"Tugger how did she get up there?" Demeter demanded.

"Well she was dancing in the clearing and next thing she started floating up," Tugger told them still watching Tantomile.

"And that's it?" Demeter asked.

"That's it! Isn't it enough?" Tugger asked panicking slightly. "Tanto's stuck up there with no way of getting her down!"

"Really comforting Tug!" Tanto yelled.

"... That we know of yet," he added.

"What's with all the noise, some cats are trying to sle..." Leo began to complain.

"Tanto!" Maristela yelled. Leo turned and his eyes widened upon seeing his friend floating above them.

"What're you doing up there?" Leo asked stupidly.

"She's just chilling out what do you think thicko?" Mari said sarcastically. Leo glared at her then looked back up at the distressed queen.

"Tanto can't you just float back down?" Quaxo inquired.

"I probably could, but I don't know how!" she whimpered.

The cats stood there trying to figure out a way to get Tanto, but the longer they stood there the more chance an adult would come and they would, more than likely, blame them for Tanto being stuck in the air. After a long time of thinking most of the other kittens had arrived and Munkustrap knew that sooner or later the adults would come looking for them to take them to bed.

Munk sighed and the kits turned to look at him. "I don't know how we could get her down. I think it's time we told dad,"

"Tell me what?" the familiar deep voice asked. The kittens whipped around to face the old leader gazing down at them, with Nyoka by his side.

"Father... Umm, we didn't mean to. I mean – I don't. I..." Munkustrap stuttered.

"Tanto's stuck!" Nyoka yelled noticing the queen high above her. Deuteronomy followed her gaze and gasped quietly. Deuteronomy stood looking up, but he didn't seem to be looking at Tanto. He was deep in concentration. The kittens watched the old tom as his brow furrowed in thought, wondering what he could possibly be thinking about.

"Couldn't possibly..." Deuteronomy muttered to himself. "Perhaps, it's quite plausible."

"What is father?" Nyoka asked.

"Kittens follow me," he started to walk from the clearing.

"What about Tanto?" Cori enquired.

"Yes, yes of course. Just a second," Deuteronomy turned and muttered some strange words under his breath. Tantomile slowly floated back down to the ground. Deuteronomy turned without another word and walked away towards his den. The kittens hesitated at first but quickly followed after him. Maybe now they would find out what was going on.

* * *

Okay, chapter 5, 6 and 7 were supposed to be one chapter. But after finishing chap 5 and starting the next part I decided I wanted to write more than I had thought I wanted to write previously and that I would then need to split the chapter up. And in the middle of chap 6 I decided the next bit was going to be long as well, so it's now chapter 7.

Munkustrap's part is dedicated to my cat as he was stupid enough to wander into the quarry half a mile from my house. They told me he was freaking lucky to have survived! He's definatly staying in the house the rest of this summer.


End file.
